Fixing Them, For Her
by warchiefzeke05
Summary: A one-shot about healing Neville Longbottom's Parents. Alternative Universe- Death Eaters have won the War. Timeline- 20 years after Battle of Hogwarts.


WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE/SWEARING

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'_The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban, we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!'_-Bellatrix Black Lestrange, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"

'_I'll join you when hell freezes over. Dumbledore's Army!' -_Neville Longbottom, "Harry Potter and the Deahly Hallows"

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St. Mungo's hospital was a lively, noisy, crowded place.

Hundreds of Witches and Wizards with various Magical conditions and diseases paced through the corridors, making an incredible commotion, so much unsuitable for a place meant for rest and recovery.

The place was also not sterile, like the Headquarters' infirmary in the Malfoy Manor. People coming from outside with Magical injuries, often had open wounds, oozing with blood, pus and other bodily fluids. They were making mess on the corridors, which nobody seemed to care about. Well, it was definetly hard to keep a huge hospital clean all the time, with people stepping in and out constantly.

The reception area had a information board with a hospital's scheme and a short descriptions of each ward. A receptionist - middle-aged, blond-haired Witch - was sitting at a desk with a tired face.

'Your names and purpose of your visit?' she asked in a bored tone.

'Nordi Exile and Bellatrix Black Lestrange, we came to visit Frank and Alice Longbottom.' said a silver-eyed, brown-haired young man in a black Death Eater commander's uniform. His voice was firm and opinionated.

The blonde Witch lifted surprised eyes on Bella. She eyed the curly-haired, dark-eyed woman with noble facial features for over a minute.

The receptionist was clearly stunned, but shook her shock after a while.

'Fourth floor, Ward 49.' she said finally, in a weak voice.

'Thank you, ma'am.' Nordi answered curtly.

He and Bella started to make their way up to the fourth floor, walking along countless corridors and climbing up quite a few stairs.

'Are you still claiming, that we aren't here to _fix my mistake_, Nordi-boy?' Bella asked in an anxious, unnerved voice.

'No, Bella, we are not.' Nordi answered solemnly. 'We did come here to purify your name, and to teach the younger Longbottom a lesson. We did not came to "_fix your mistake_", because, by the Dark Lord, you didn't make any.'

'You know that even I considered it a mistake, back then.' Bella muttered. 'I mean, obviously I did only what they deserved to be done to them, but I went too far. I exaggerated, went with the flow, like a rookie recruit, not the Dark Lord's finest soldier.'

'Bella.' Nordi said soothingly. 'Everybody in your position would have done the same. Everybody would have cursed those two into oblivion. Considering the circumstances you were in- back then, after the fall of our Lord, nobody can blame you for accidently keeping the curse too long.'

'Then... Why, Nordi-boy? If you don't think that my mistake should be fixed, what led you to a decision on fixing _them_?' Bella asked.

'Neville Longbottom.' Nordi muttered shortly. 'Ever since me and him used to have a couple of unpleasant encounters before and during the Battle of Hogwarts, for twenty-two years, I've known that something is off about this guy, and I've been desperate to find out what.'

He sighed and looked sadly at Bellatrix.

'His behavior wasn't... normal.' he went on. 'I mean, what he used to do during his last year at school, the year when we implemented all of the changes at Hogwarts, when Snape became the Headmaster. Neville's behavior back then was just unbelievable. Sure, we all had expected hostility from the side of former Gryffindors, but Longbottom... He took it to the whole another level. '

Bellatrix nodded, giving him a sign to elaborate.

'Bella...those eyes of his.' Nordi said quietly. 'Those were eyes of an insane person. That moment when he attacked me on the corridor, trying to knock me down... I could see it all inside of his eyes. Such a boundless hatred, such an unlimited disgust, when he look at me... That was not a reaction of a normal person, Bella. That day, I made an attempt to reason with him, but... that was like reasoning with an enraged animal. All he did was yelling at me and snapping. At first, I thought that he was just another victim of Dumbledore's indoctrination...'

'Was he not?' Bella asked.

'He was, but that wasn't all. It was impossible, that he did all what he did on behalf of the old coot's ideas themselves. There was... more, I knew it.'

He made a break and sighed.

'I connected the dots only a year ago, when we raided the Order of the Phoenix' hideout. As soon as you, me and Anguis descended into their bunker, Longbottom was right in front of me, and I could clearly watch his eyes, facial expressions and reactions. He... he looked at you, Bella, with eyes of a complete madman. I've never seen so much pure hatred painted on anyone's face.'

Nordi sighed again, recalling the events of the year before.

'Remember, back then, when I made a few steps aside? I was meaning not only to shield Anguis from Potter, but also shield you from Longbottom. I thought that he would pounce on you. By the Dark Lord, he looked like a wild animal, looking on its prey. But I guess animals are unable to feel an insane hatred, so add that in your mind.'

Bella nodded.

'Only then I got the idea, that Longbottom has something against you, personally. That's why I asked you about your connection to this guy. After you told me everything, I can only say that I would have done the same if I were you back then. I only... I couldn't stand it, when he looked at you this way. I wouldn't stand anyone looking at you this way. You are the last person, who deserved to receive such hateful looks.'

'Nordi-boy...'

'Bella, a lot of people within the Wizarding World, who don't know you personally, but know what had happened with Alice and Frank Longbottom, will hold those events as a credit against you. They may not know your reason, your motivations, the circumstances you were in - all they will remember is that you had cursed those two into insanity. And they will hate you, they will insult you, they will backbite you, despite not actually knowing anything about you. And I... I won't allow that. I simply won't. I'll make your name pure.'

'It still sounds like fixing a mistake to me.' Bella said, grinning.

'Maybe. But it's fixing _their _mistake. Mistake of those, who hate you. Not yours.'

They exchanged looks.

'Neville Longbottom has received a furlough leave from Azkaban for Yule to visit his parents.' Nordi added, walking into the last staircase. 'I hope he will see them only when they're already fixed by us.'

'You think that this boy has a chance of ... redemption?' Bella asked.

Nordi gave this question a thought.

'It's hard to assess, if he is brainwashed enough, or not. Nevertheless, I will make him see what are we capable of and what can we accomplish if we want. And hopefully, I will erase all the hatred and hostility towards you, from his eyes. If I fail to erase those emotions, I swear by the Dark Lord, that I will tear his eyes off with my bare hands, without Magic.'

'Careful by whose name you swear, Nordi-boy, because it's possible that you will have to really take Longbottom's eyeballs off.' Bella grinned.

'That's why I have sworn it.'

They both giggled, approaching the Ward 49 for patients with a permanent damage. The ward consisted of a set of collective hospital rooms, and a couple of isolation rooms for individual patients.

'It's there.' Nordi said, indicating a door to an isolation ward with a name "Longbottom" on it. Alice and Frank, having spent almost forty years in St Mungo's, must have received a private room for themselves.

Passing by a larger hospital room, designed for four or five patients, Nordi saw a man with a skinny face and bleached hair, popping his huge eyes on them. The man was dressed in purple bathrobe; he must have been one of the permanent patients.

'YOU!' the bleached-haired man yelled so loud, that Nordi flinched. The man lifted his index finger, indicating Bella, and started slowly coming forward to the Death Eaters.

'YOU... YOU BITCH! HOW DO YOU EVEN HAVE THE AUDACIDY TO SO COME CLOSE TO THEIR PLACE?! WHO DID EVEN LET YOU INSIDE OF THE HOSPITAL, YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER?! YOU...'

'Crucio.' Nordi said quietly, through clenched teeth, stretching his hand out towards the patient.

The man collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain. His cries and yells quickly drew attention of fellow patients, and made a young nurse to come flying to the spot.

'What the bloody hell is going on here?!' the nurse snapped, probably anticipated a fight between the permanent residents. As soon as she saw Bella and Nordi, the annoyance on her face disappeared, turning into fear.

Nordi lifted the curse, looking contemptuously at the man lying on the floor.

'W-with all due respect, sir' the young nurse started apprehensively. 'I know that you two are... authority figures of our regime , but nevertheless, I must ask you to refrain from cursing people inside of the hospital. Y-you can take them to Azkaban or to your Headquarters, and do anything you want with them, but our h-hospital is a place of rest and recovery. I know that Mr Abercrombie here used to be an Auror, but...'

'I didn't even know that this man used to be an Auror.' Nordi cut her off, looking at the man with bleached hair. 'I cursed him only because he insulted my friend.'

He turned his eyes towards the young nurse, who blushed and took a few steps back.

'P-please d-don't hold me accountable for this man's action's sir. I'm loyal t-to You -Kn-... to our Lord, I'm Pure -Blooded...' she stuttered, terrified.

Nordi exchanged surprised looks with Bella.

'I don't intend to hold you accountable for him, Miss.' he said. 'I'd only ask you to keep this man and other inpatients of your ward away from us, and prevent them from interrupting our visit by the Longbottom couple.'

The bleached-haired man , still lying on the ground, turned his insane eyes towards the young nurse.

'Martha, do you know who those people are? DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT WOMAN IS ?! This is Bellatrix Lestrange, the one who has tortured Frank and Alice into insanity! Don't let her come closer to their room!'

The nurse, Martha, grabbed the patient by the arm.

'Abercrombie, are you also insane?!' she hissed at him. 'Do you want to be cursed again?! I know who those people are, and they are ones of the most important individuals in the country!'

Abercrombie wriggled, trying to tear his arm off the girl's hand.

'You are too young to remember, Martha, but I have known Frank and Alice before! Before they both lost their minds from HER hand! The fact that they are not comprehensive, doesn't mean that they cannot feel pain. She clearly wants to subject them to those horrible tortures again! She doesn't have any human feelings, this rotten monster, this...'

'CRUCIO!' Nordi yelled louder than before and cut Abercrombie off. The man cowered on the floor again, crying out.

'NO! Please, sir, I'll do anything to c-carry him away ! Please lift the curse, it will make his state even worse...' the young nurse begged, grabbing Nordi by his outstretched hand. Well, she was kind of courageous.

The Death Eater lowered his hand and lifted the Cruciatus.

'Just... keep him away from us... Martha.' Bellatrix said silently towards the girl.

The young nurse nodded eagerly.

Well, that task won't be difficult for her - Abercrombie was already unconscious.

Bella was the one to turn the doorknob of the isolation room of Frank and Alice Longbottoms.

She apprehensively stepped inside, followed by Nordi.

The interior of the room reminded of a standard hospital hall for a couple. White walls, white linen, two uncomfortable sickbeds and night drawers beside them. And a suffocating scent of healing potions and medicines in the air.

An elderly couple sat on one of the beds.

Nordi realized, that they might just have looked "elderly"- in reality, they were younger than Bella, and it was their condition that made their faces sunken and their faces wrinkled.

The man, Frank, had an almost bald head, and the reminiscent of his hair was grey and curly, trimmed to the level of his very prominent ears.

The woman, Alice, was very underweight. Her skin was pale and paper-thin, and her hair were already completely white.

Both of them were unable to make an eye-contact. A soon as they heard hear Nordi and Bella entering the room, they turned their faces their side, looking at a wall behind them.

Alice started making undefined sounds; a crossover between growling and moaning.

Nordi cautiously came forward to the disabled couple. He intended to examine them a little bit, before starting the process of healing.

'Bella.' he said. 'That day... was it supposed to be a punishment, or an interrogation?' he asked, trying unsuccessfully to make an eye contact with Frank.

'A punishment.' Bella stated firmly. 'At first, me, Rudolphus and Barty had an impression that those two could have an idea about our Lord's whereabouts, but we quickly found out that it was not the case. All we did to those two afterwards, was exclusively taking our revenge for all they did.'

Nordi nodded, kneeling in front of the couple, to take a closer look at them. Now, seeing two old, malnourished and weakened individuals with sunken faces, one could easily forget what those two used to be forty years before.

Nordi was able to look beyond the surface. He was perfectly aware, that the two human wrecks in front of him once used to be dangerous and prominent Aurors, who had defied his Lord no less than three times.

He started to have some small second thoughts about his decision to fix them, even though he had thought through it a thousand times.

He shook his head to get rid of his doubts. He had to fix them - for HER.

Bella placed her warm hand on his shoulder.

'Nordi, are you sure that you will be able to do this? I mean, if dozens of Healers over the last forty years were not able to improve their vegetative state...' she asked quietly.

'I'm positive.' Nordi answered shortly. 'St Mungo's Healers suck, if it comes to such nasty conditions. Remember the state my Father was in when we met him? His condition used to get worse by each day, even though he had sought help amongst the local Healers for sixteen years.'

'Your Father's condition wasn't quite comparable with theirs.' Bellatrix noticed. 'He used to be disabled due to a muscle dystrophy. But...'

'It wasn't an ordinary muscle dystrophy.' Nordi cut her off. 'He used to weigh less than thirty pounds; and he did not even slightly resemble a human being. Le looked more like a starved dog.'

'Yes, I guess the power of the Blood Magic can indeed perform miracles.' Bella said hesitantly. 'Nevertheless, you've never tried to heal mental conditions this way, have you?'

'No, It's gonna be the first time.' Nordi admitted. 'But, by the Dark Lord, believe me, it's worth a try.'

Both Alice and Frank started moaning in annoyance. They couldn't have been used to a prolonged presence of strangers around them. They also moved slightly to a left side of their bed, to be further away from Bella.

'Bella.' Nordi said. 'Do you think that over those thirty-seven years, in their vegetative state, those two were able to receive some impulses from outside ? Can they hear us talking, can they see our faces, can they sense our Magical aura? Do they comprehend to some extent what is going on around them?'

'I believe to some extent, yes.' Bella nodded. 'In such a condition, their brains receive all the impulses, but are unable to process them fully and make an adequate reaction. This is comparable with a form of Autism; have you ever heard of it?'

'The Muggle condition?' Nordi asked in confusion.

'Not a _Muggle condition, _Nordi-boy.' Bella answered with a reproach. 'Wizards and Witches also suffer from it, but rarer and to a smaller degree.'

'I see.' Nordi nodded. 'I'm ready, Bella. I'd ask you to prepare them for the process.'

Bella drew her crooked wand and stretched it out towards the Longbottoms.

'Incncerous.' she muttered .

The disabled couple squeaked in surprise, when invisible Magical ropes tied them up together. Their backs clung to each other, immobilizing their bodies. They both wriggled and groaned, trying to set themselves free.

Nordi waved his hand lazily at the furniture of the room and the hospital equipment. The spare sickbed, two night dressers and a small wardrobe flew vigorously to the other side of the room, and stopped by the wall, making a large free space. Frank and Alice reacted emotionally to the commotion, screaming and crying louder than before.

'How about I'd stun them?' Bella asked, frowning.

'Cannot. The Ritual requires them being conscious.' Nordi explained, pulling his Ritual Dagger out of his leather hostler.

The young man made a deep cut in his right wrist in one, swift movement. The blood pumped immediately out of his exposed veins and arteries. He knelt down in the middle of the clear space, and pressed his open wound against the white, tile floor.

The Ritual Circle he sketched was fairly large, because it had to be filled up with a huge number of Runic symbols. Healing Blood Rituals were complicated a hundred times more than Warding or Protective ones. Nordi pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket, and started sketching Runes according to the crib.

He crawled around the Circle on his knees, slowly filling it up with the complex patterns. Runic symbols indicating "mind", "health", "consciousness'' and "clarity", were the core of the Ritual, and needed to be sketched on the opposite sides of two, perpendicular diameter lines. The other letters were to be drawn in-between. They originated from three Runic alphabets - Futarak, Gaelic alphabet and Parsel Runes. While sketching, Nordi had to make a break several times to drink a vial of Blood Replenishment Potion.

'I'm done.' he whispered finally, feeling a litte depleted even despite chugging the Potion. 'Bella, they...'

He turned his head and frowned at the Longbotoms. At this point, they not only yelled, but downright sobbed with tears falling down their cheeks; being tied-up must have been a great stress to their non-comprehensive minds.

'Good for you, filthy Blood Traitors.' Nordi snarled. 'You belong to a family listed as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and you have wasted this heritage, you have put it in the trash. Why would people like yourselves have stood against our Lord? I think your brains were not totally intact back then, too, eh?'

'Oh, Nordi-boy, another example of your behavior tagged as _I will help you, but I don't want you to think that I like or support you, so I'm going to insult you as much as I can throughout the process?'_ Bella asked, amused.

Nordi smirked.

'Yeah, something of that kind.' he admitted, giggling. 'Bella, could you please place them carefully in the middle of the Circle?'

'Levicorpus.' Bella uttered, waving her crooked wand at the disabled couple. She levitated Frank and Alice to the spot in the middle of the Blood Circle; annoyingly, the couple didn't at all give up on wriggling and fighting against their ties.

'They're moving too much.' Nordi muttered, annoyed. 'Hey, retards; if the shit ton of blood I've just spilled will go into waste because you two cannot sit on your asses, I swear by the Dark Lord I'm going to curse you into oblivion for the second fucking time.'

Bellatrix burst into laughter.

'Good that you have a sense of humor in such circumstances, but they cannot understand you.' she said, amused. 'Watch that: AGGLUTINO!'

Bella's spell made the Longbottoms stick to the floor and to each other =, motionlessly. The only thing they could do at the moment, was shooting terrified looks with their over-large eyes.

'Brilliant, Bella.' Nordi smiled. 'Now, please, close or cover your eyes; as far as I remember, the light of the Ritual will be hurtful to the eyesight.'

He stretched his bleeding hand out upon the Ritual circle and closed his own eyes.

'Repleo. Repleo. Repleo. Repleo. Repleo.' he started slowly uttering the incantations, and with each word, the Circle and the patterns inside radiated more and more bright, red light.

'Auctoritas Sanguine Purus.' He whispered, starting seeing the intensive light even through his eyelids. 'Auctoritas Sanguine Purus. Auctoritas Sanguine Purus...'

A familiar hissing sounds blasted out in his ears; the Longbottoms' groans and yells were no longer recognizable. He went on with the incantations, speaking progressively louder and louder to make his voice through the sounds around him. He could feel drops of blood from his sliced wrists still falling down the Circle, fueling the Ritual, making it even stronger.

'Expleo.' he said finally, ending the process of the Ritual. The red light vanished. He was apprehensive to open his eyes, unsure of the effect.

'What's wrong with them?' he heard Bella's surprised voice and felt an ice-cold cramp in his stomach. He opened his eyes just to see Frank and Alice unconscious, sitting just like in the beginning of the Ritual - leaning against each other by backs.

'Nordi-boy, did you leave them even more useless than they had been before?' Bella asked in a surprised voice.

'We're about to find out.' he muttered. 'ENERVATE!' he yelled, stretching his hand out towards them.

Frank was the first to slowly open his huge eyes, Alice followed him after a few seconds. Nordi immedietly spotted a difference: before the Healing Ritual, their eyes used to be blurry, vacant and milky. Now, they appeared much more clear and focused.

Anxious about the effect, Nordi jumped forward to Frank and knelt in front of him. He lowered his face down to the level of the man's face, trying to make an eye-contact.

It worked. The old Longbottom looked straight into Death Eater's eyes; Nordi could see their brown deepness.

'By the Dark Lord!' Nordi yelled, exited and overjoyed. 'Bella, we did it, by the Dark Lord, we did it ! I can't believe... I'd tried that for the first time and, it worked! Bella!'

Bella rolled her eyes, amused.

'Now _unbelievable_, and before the Ritual you were so positive that it _just has to work_.' she said.

'Well, I couldn't be one hundred percent sure, this Ritual is unbelievably complex...' the young man started lamely explaining himself, when Alice Longbottom unexpectedly cut him off:

'YOU!' she yelled, indicating Bella with her index finger. Nordi picked himself up in a swift move and jumped forward to the woman sitting in the Circle.

Alice was trembling all over her underweight body, her oversized eyes were popped up and focused on Bella.

'IT WAS YOU WHO MADE US END UP HERE!' she yelled in a horrible, high-pitched voice, still a little bit muffled from being unable to articulate proper words for such a long time. 'IT WAS YOU WHO TORTURED US FOR SO MANY HOURS! I REMEMBER THAT NIGHT ! I REMEMBER **EVERYTHING**!'

'Oh, don't be fucking ridiculous.' Nordi said in a tired voice, frowning. 'You've just regained your senses, your ability to speak and to focus your eyesight after nearly forty years, and the first thing you do is yelling at my friend? Maybe you two crave for a replay of that night? Because, I swear by the Dark Lord, that you have more than deserved it.'

The skinny woman cowered and went silent after Nordi's words.

Frank turned around crawled up closer to Nordi and Bella (the Ritual must have nullified all the spells used to immobilize both Longbottoms) and looked at the Death Eaters.

'Alice, that's... really her.' he whispered. 'That night, I remember it like yesterday. It was the last night of clear, not-foggy memories. Was it... the last night of our sanity?'

'It must have been.' Alice muttered. 'I also see that night, just... too clearly. Like a fresh memory. This image is vivid in front of my eyes.'

'How long has it been...?' Frank whispered, looking at Bella with undefined emotions in his eyes.

'Thirty-seven years precisely.' Bella answered.

'Y..you were the one who led us to that state.' Alice muttered, Looking at Bella. 'And now, you two, have... healed... us? Why would you do it?'

'Definitely not for you.' Nordi answered shortly .

'Then, why...?' Frank inquired, with a confusion in his huge eyes.

'To purify Bella's name. And to erase this sick, insane hatred out of the eyes of your son, Neville.' The Death Eater explained.

'Neville!' Frank yelled, and his eyes lit up. 'Alice, our son...!'

'Do you remember him?' Nordi couldn't help but ask; he was genuinely curious about their train of thoughts during their sickness. 'Have you been recognizing him, when he was coming by to visit you?'

'Of course!' Alice snarled with a reproach. 'How could I not have been able to recognize my own son!?'

'We were only unable to answer him.' Frank added, squinting his eyes to bring memories. 'We couldn't make any kind of contact with anyone; that was like living in a nightmare. Each time when he was coming by, talking to me, and I was only able to produce some babbling sounds... It broke my heart. Every single one of his visits left foggy, blurry memories. The last clear memory I have about Neville, is from the times he was an infant.'

'Very well then, you will have plenty of time to catch up with him.' Nordi said in an unaffectionate voice. He nodded curtly to the older couple for a goodbye. 'We'd go now. I must get some more vials of Blood Replenishment, 'cause...' he muttered, heading towards the door, but Alice cut him off.

'WAIT!' she cried out in this horrible voice of hers; Nordi flinched. He turned back towards her, annoyed.

'You know what,' he started in an irritated voice. 'If not for this shit ton of blood I have just spilled to fix you, I would curse you back into insanity without a second thought. You're pissing me off like nobody else; no wonder Neville is such an annoying guy having a Mother like you.'

Alice opened her mouth to reply, but this very moment, the door to the hospital room opened vigorously.

Everyone's eyes focused on two individuals standing in the doorway: a dark-haired man in his thirties and elderly woman in a hat with a stuffed vulture.

Neville Longbottom and his Grandmother Augusta popped their eyes in utter disbelief at the scene in front of them. Nordi didn't expect Neville to come so soon after receiving a furlough leave from Azkaban.

He was quite amused at a shock in Neville's and Augusta's eyes. It definetly must have looked weird: Nordi and Bellatrix standing upon Neville's parents, who knelt in the middle of a huge blood Circle.

As soon as Alice spotted her son, she immedietly picked herself up from the floor. She jumped forward to the young man, opening her skinny arms to hug him.

Her eyes... there was just boundless joy, and excitement, and a hint of disbelief inside them.

'Neville, my little boy!' she cried, embracing Neville. Her voice was no longer screechy and unbearable; now, it was soft and tender.

Frank joined them and hugged his son first; then, he kissed knuckles of his Mother, Augusta, who opened her mouth in shock, unable to utter a word.

Nordi decided to leave the family in their own company. He muttered quick "Scourgify" upon the Blood Circle, leaving the tile floor clean, and- followed by Bella- made his way through the door outside.

Stepping out, he briefly caught Neville's eyes- with a crossover between an utter shock and a silent question inside. He shrugged his shoulders and went away.

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ONE WEEK LATER

Sitting at a desk in his office in the Headquarters, Nordi heard somebody anxiously and vigorously knocking at his door.

'Come in!' he said, turning back towards the door.

The individual who confidently stepped inside looked somewhat scruffy. He didn't wear embroidered, leather black robes indicating a Death Eater. Instead, his outfit consisted of worn out, dirty and oversized shirt and a pair of Muggle, patched pants. His hair were long and untidy. Nordi frowned.

'Commander Exile, sorry for botherin' yeh.' he said, saluting him with two fingers.

Nordi immedietly recognized this style of speaking, and his eyes twinkled with understand.

'You're from Fenrir's regiment!' he exclaimed, and the stranger nodded. 'Come forward, what news do you bring?' Nordi asked curiously.

The scruffy Werewolf came closer.

'Ah, I've been patrolin' around da Manor, yeh know.' he said. 'And there was this lad... Walkin' around like a retard, maybe ten miles away from da Manor. I've asked, whadda fuck yer doin' here, lad? And he claims that he has to see yer.'

Nordi squinted his eyes in confusion.

'He wants to see me? Who is he? Did he introduce himself?' he asked.

'Oh yeah, he did introduce... Only I forgot, yeh know, it was such a long, funny name... Longass?' The Werewolf muttered, trying to recall the name.

'Longbottom!' Nordi exclaimed. 'Why did this guy want to see me?'

'I dunno. I'm also confused, Commander, 'cause da lad is on a parole from da prison, ain't he...?'

'On a furlough leave.' Nordi corrected. 'Did you lock him up in the dungeons?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Bring him to me.'

The Werewolf nodded and stepped out of Nordi's office.

He returned after a short while, leading Neville Longbottom by his neck. The young man didn't seem to put up any resistance, he just let himself be dragged in front of Nordi with his head down.

'Thank you.' Nordi nodded at the Werewolf. 'You're dismissed.'

The scruffy man bowed slightly, let go of Neville and went away.

'What do you want from me, Longbottom?' Nordi snarled.

The dark-haired man didn't look up at the Death Eater. Nordi noticed, that the past year in Azkaban took a heavy impact on Neville; his cheeks were no longer chubby, but sunken. His skin was grayish, and he looked clearly unhealthily.

'May I sit down, Exile?' Longbottom muttered sheepishly.

'You have some fucking audacity.' Nordi frowned, narrowing his eyes. 'After all the damage you have done? After all those timed you have stood against our Lord?'

Neville lifted his head and looked Nordi in the eyes.

'Nevertheless, you have healed my parents, Exile.' he said.

Nordi shrugged his shoulders.

'Definitely not for you. I did it exclusively for Bellatrix, and if that's all you wanted to say, the door is that way.' he snapped.

'My Mother told me...' Neville went on, ignoring this remark. 'That you did it to... erase the hatred towards Bellatrix from my eyes.'

'BECAUSE IT FUCKING HURTS, YOU DAMN DIM-WIT!' Nordi yelled, losing his temper. He started seeing red. 'WHEN I SAW THE HATRED INSIDE YOUR EYES WHEN YOU LOOKED AT HER, IT STABBED ME LIKE A FUCKING DAGGER!'

Nordi stopped and breathed in and out a couple of times, to calm himself down. He looked at Neville, squinting his eyes.

'You don't know anything about Bella, Longbottom. Fucking anything. That day, in your hideout... when I saw you focusing your eyes on her... with this insane hatred... like a madman... I have sworn to myself by the Dark Lord, that I shall purify her name. That I shall make her respected and acknowledged by everyone just like she deserves, including you. I have sworn that I will vanish the hostility towards her from people's eyes. I will not endure hatred towards Bella anymore, from anyone. That is why I have fixed your Parents. For her.' Nordi spoke passionately, not sure if Longbottom even comprehended his reasoning.

'Tell me, Longbottom.' he snarled after a short break. 'Do you enjoy your stay in Azkaban?'

Neville put his head down, looking on the floor.

'Just as much as you can see. It's a nightmare.' he admitted.

'How long have you been sitting there again?'

'Almost ten months.'

'Do you know how much time did Bellatrix has spent in this place, which, as you've admitted yourself, is a nightmare?'

Longbottom hesitated.

'Of course, you don't know.' Nordi mocked. 'I will enlighten you, then: she has spent there almost fourteen years, without having even one single furlough leave like you have. She has spent there _fucking fourteen_ _years_, without giving in to despair. She remained most loyal and most faithful all throughout this time. Besides, do you know anything about circumstances that had occurred that night, when your Parents were being tortured? Do you know what Bella was through back then? Have you ever given any thought to her motivation? And finally, are you even aware what your precious Parents had been doing before you were even born? What did they do as Aurors? How many of our people did they hurt? How many children did they leave orphaned?'

Neville stood with his head down, unable to utter a word. He clearly couldn't give Nordi any of the answers; and just waited for his speech to be over.

'Think, Longbottom!' Nordi said, indicating his forehead. 'It helps once in a while, you know? I know that in addition to being incredibly thick, you have been also brainwashed by your dearest Dumbledore in your early youth. But I will repeat once again the thing I have already told you twenty years ago, during our times at Hogwarts: try to use your own brain. You have one after all, don't you? Use it! Question your commitments, and everything you believe in! Think your live over, Longbottom!'

Nordi gasped, finishing his passionate speech.

Longbottom still stood motionlessly, not daring to lift his head up. Nordi sighed and conjured a simple chair.

'Sit.' he snarled.

Longbottom obeyed.

'Exile.' he whispered shyly.

'What?' Nordi snapped.

'I-I'm thirty-eight years old.' he started. 'A week ago, for the first time in my life, I had a chance to speak to my parents. I had a chance to tell them everything that happened throughout my life. I had a chance to feel their warm embrace. I had a chance to take them out of the hospital and have a field trip with them. I watched their child-like admiration, when they walked through Hogsmeade, looking inside of the shops and restaurants, re-discovering everything. I watched them making up for the last thirty-seven years, when they were nothing but empty shells.'

'Am I supposed to burst into tears, Longbottom?' Nordi asked mockingly.

'No. You are just supposed to... accept my gratitude. Thank you, Exile.'

Those words have clearly not been easy for Longbottom to utter. He blushed in embarrassment. Well, after all, he and Nordi have always been fierce enemies.

Nordi shrugged his shoulders, mildly surprised.

'...Alright. Just pass on to Mommy and Daddy, that if we see any sign of a hostile activity from their side, any sign of standing against our Lord, they both will join you in Azkaban in no-time. I will take a personal care of this.' he said.

'T-that's a-another issue, Exile.' Neville answered, getting more anxious and unnerved. 'Y-you see...They d-don't plan any _hostile activities_, like you've put it. It's...it's actually the other way around. And, I...I agree with my Parents.' he finished, turning crimson.

Nordi's silver eyes widened. A grin appeared on his face.

'Nooo, don't tell me...Am I ...witnessing a groundbreaking, historic moment right now, Longbottom?' he asked in a disbelief.

'I would appreciate, if you didn't make fun of me.' Neville muttered, his face still getting progressively redder, if that was even possible. 'That was not a kind of an easy decision, you know.'

'Obviously.' Nordi said, this time seriously and without mocking. 'I guess you would like to see Bellatrix.' that was a statement rather than a question.

'Yes, if it's possible.' Neville confirmed eagerly.

Nordi rolled up his left sleeve and touched gently his Dark Mark, uttering quietly Bella's name. The Mark briefly darkened and writhed.

Neville must have spotted a short spasm jolting through Nordi's body, because he looked at his left forearm anxiously.

'When you take it... And when you summon somebody this way...Does it hurt?' he asked silently.

Nordi gave him a small smile.

'Every time.' he admitted.

Bellatrix apparated with a "crack" inside of the office. She seemed slightly annoyed by the summoning.

'I'm older than you, you know that, Nordi-boy? Are you too lazy to come to me yourself? Or...Oh!' she stopped mid-sentence, having spotted Neville.

'Bella, our itchy-pitchy Longbottom kid has something to tell you.' Nordi said, with a hint of pride in his voice.

Bella froze on the spot like a statue, eyeing Neville in an utter shock.

Longbottom stood up and clumsily came forward to Bella. He stretched his right hand forward to her, burning in embarrassment.

'I... I'd like to apologize.' he muttered looking at the floor. 'Also, I'd like to thank you for assisting Exile in healing my Parents.'

Bella, still clearly stunned, took cautiously Longbottom's hand and shook it.

Nordi grinned to himself; he was indeed witnessing a historic occurrence.

'Longbottom, I want you to remember this moment.' he said solemnly. 'You are shaking hand of the bravest woman in the entire Wizarding World.'

Neville finally lifted his crimson face to look at Bella.

For the first time, there was no hatred inside his eyes.


End file.
